Tag: film

Cat Fly Film Festival is preparing for its second annual event over the weekend of April 6-8th. Another incredible lineup of narrative short films and documentaries, all created by filmmakers in the Southeast, have been selected to screen at three exceptional venues in Asheville. Tickets are on sale now, and they do sell out!

I don’t have any shorts that I personally spearheaded in the lineup this year, though I was an Associate Producer and Sound Recordist on SIDES by Will Osigian and Trust Fall Productions. I am also assisting the festival’s directors– Brittany Jackson, Madeleine Richardson, and Cat Wityk– in an administrative capacity where I help plan the event and logistics in Cat Fly’s new status as a Nonprofit organization.

AS ONE FLESH is the horror short film that I produced over the summer, which was written and directed by J.W. Naylor, starring Jeff Alexander, Victoria Rae, Franklin Lovingood, and James Martin. Although the short film recently premiered at Cat Fly Halloween in Asheville, North Carolina on October 13th, we are now prepping to submit the film to other festivals, both domestic and international.

The film will also be available for online streaming within the next few weeks. When wading through the festival circuit, I believe it is always helpful to attach an attractive and engaging poster to submissions. Vincent Secary provided art and design on the poster for AS ONE FLESH. Find it embedded below via Instagram.

After enjoying an extended run on the festival circuit over the last year, notably at the Catalina Film Festival and Just For Laughs in Montreal as a guest of Kevin Hart’s LOL Network, GOOD HAIR has settled on a home for its online distribution. The romantic comedy short film is now available for free streaming on Amazon Video.

Kat Dee Holly and Fray Forde are currently forging ahead on their latest venture, FAMILY TRADITION, a short independent film about a delightfully dysfunctional family, set in Holly’s home of Gaffney, South Carolina. Coki Productions, previously known as Good Hair Entertainment, is currently undergoing a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo to raise production funds. Please consider making a donation.

Legion M is the world’s first fan-owned media company. Individually, we are simply consumers, but with the goal to unite one million fans together as shareholders, Legion M presents huge potential for positive change in the way that we produce entertainment. Legion M’s mission is furthermore supported by the star-power of industry elites such as Stan Lee, Kevin Smith, Seth Green, Tim League, Stoopid Buddy Stoodios, Alamo Drafthouse, Meltdown Comics, and 42 Entertainment.

A post shared by LegionMOfficial (@legionmofficial) on Sep 26, 2017 at 10:25am PDT

I purchased 13 shares of stock just before the second investment period closed, making me an official Co-Owner and Investor of Legion M. I’ve since become a member of a private Facebook group where I’ve had the pleasure of interacting with other members of Legion M, as well as participate in exclusive discussions, surveys, and polls relating to the development of Legion M’s upcoming content.

Legion M’s first project was the feature film COLOSSAL, written and directed by Nacho Vigalondo, starring Anne Hathaway and Jason Sudeikis. Legion M joined as a co-production with NEON after the film was purchased at Toronto Film Festival. COLOSSAL is a story about an out-of-work party girl forced to leave her life in New York City, and move back home. When reports surface that a giant creature is destroying Seoul, she comes to the realization that she is somehow connected to this phenomenon. The film is currently available to stream via Amazon Video.

SIDES by Trust Fall Productions received a write up by Ali Marshall in the Asheville local news outlet Mountain Xpress. The short is available to watch online in the linked article. SIDES was directed by Will Osigian, produced by Ryan Hand, and stars Jeff Alexander and Drez Ryan as two best friends on opposite sides of the Civil War. I was an Associate Producer, and Sound Recordist during production, which occurred at 5am in the early morning on the 4th of July, 2017, choosing to celebrate Independence Day our way by creating a timely American narrative.

We are so excited to be on Mountain Xpress! If you haven’t seen Sides yet, check it out!!!

GIVE AND TAKE is an upcoming feature film written and directed by Andrew Shearer, a Nicholl Fellowship winning writer, and Screenwriting instructor at the Asheville School of Film. Shearer recently launched a crowdfunding campaign on Seed&Spark to fund and self-produce his film project, a comedy documentary mashup about a father in the middle of a divorce who kidnaps his own daughter to save her from making a huge mistake which would ruin her life, a mysterious act that would become the big topic of gossip in their small town community.

Wow, the support so far we’re getting for GIVE AND TAKE is incredible! Shout outs to Thomas McCoy, Nicole Lachance, and…

I had the pleasure of helping out on the film’s pre-production process, specifically drawing up multiple drafts of the total budget for both above and below the line expenses. The crowdfunding campaign has already surpassed its halfway mark, and I look forward to seeing it earn its funds and be actualized in the coming months. Watch Andrew Shearer’s video pitch for GIVE AND TAKE embedded below.

Trust Fall Productions recently released SIDES, a dramatic short film about two best friends on opposite camps of the Civil War. SIDES was written, directed, shot, and edited by Will Osigian, stars Jeff Alexander and Drez Ryan, and produced by Ryan Hand and myself as an Associate Producer with Brittany Jackson and Wesley Osigian as Production Assistants. Brittany and I also managed the sound recording.

Watch the full film above, check out the poster below, and keep an eye out for the film’s presence in the festival circuit over the next few months, along with much more upcoming content from Trust Fall Productions as they continue to expand.

Over the first weekend of September, Brittany and I traveled to Greenville, South Carolina to work on BUSTER BUSINESS, a comedy short film in the vein of Charlie Chaplin and Pixar, where a quirky man named Buster interviews for a job at Big Business. The film was written and directed by Gunner Willis and Corey Wavle, who also stars as the lead Buster, with Zach Robinson and MJ Slide as Producers.

Day one took place entirely on a sound stage at Anderson College in Spartanburg, South Carolina. In the photo below, Gunner Willis directs the corporate extras who work at Big Business as an anonymous mob of black ties and briefcases. MJ Slide looks on as the 1st AD, keeping the production safe and on schedule. The rail across the room was the dolly track, which was used for many moving shots.

Corey Wavle played Buster as a timid but quick witted man with a Kurt Cobain hairstyle and taste for vintage clothes. He enters the lions’ den, totally out of his element, but when faced with unpredictable obstacles and impossible questions, Buster turns his troubles into his advantages. I was not familiar with Wavle’s acting, but knew him previously from his work as a 1st AC on GOOD HAIR THE MOVIE. Gunner Willis, the Director, is a working actor himself, who has appeared in minor roles on Netflix’s OZARK and HBO’s VICE PRINCIPALS television series.

As the Script Supervisor, I worked closely with the Director, Gunner Willis, to note each take for script consistency as well as any visual incongruities. I kept a running log of notes which should serve as an important resource for the Editor, so they may anticipate any problems with a performance or production error in advance, and know exactly which take was best received. As one of the few people on set who actively watched the monitor for each take, I feel lucky to have such an inside perspective on how hilariously beautiful this film will be once it’s finished.

Be on the lookout for more info on BUSTER BUSINESS over the next few months as they enter post production and beyond. I expect the entire film will be completed by the end of the year with a slew of film festival screenings starting in early 2018.

GOOD HAIR has enjoyed a successful and varied festival run this year, playing from regional roadshows, online channels, to international venues. Over the coming months, the film will be featured at the Catalina Film Festival in Los Angeles on September 30th, and the Heartland Film Festival in Indianapolis mid-October.

It’s going down like the Catalina Wine Mixer! If you’re in California on September 30th, take a ferry over to Catalina and check out our film at the Catalina Film Festival!

I am sure everyone involved is immensely proud of the work we accomplished by bringing Fray Forde and Kat Dee Holly’s romantic comedy to life, excited to be a part of such prestigious short film festivals, and lucky to have maintained a steady screening schedule this summer. I never expected the short film to take off the way it did. It surely isn’t slowing down anytime soon, and I shouldn’t be surprised.

Early in the morning of July 4th, with a call time of 5am, Brittany Jackson and I celebrated Independence Day in an unusual way by joining Trust Fall Productions on the shoot of their upcoming short film SIDES, which was directed by Will Osigian, produced by Ryan Hand, and starred best friends Jeff Alexander and Drez Ryan.

A post shared by TrustFallProductions (@trustfallprod) on Jul 4, 2017 at 1:27pm PDT

SIDES tells the story of two soldiers, Charles and Jim, who serve on opposing forces of the Civil War, despite their history of friendship. In a moment of respite from battle, Charles and Jim catch up by creekside, and chat like a single day hasn’t passed. Though Charles suggests he’s fighting for the states’ right to choose, Jim explains that Black Americans like him are fighting for the right to have rights.

Jeff and Drez work together quite often, particularly in Team Cat Fly’s recent entry in the 48 Hour Film Project entitled IT’S MY PARTY, and the Asheville based web-series WHEN FACT MET FICTION, but always relish the opportunity to do so again. Both were recently cast in the upcoming MR. MERCEDES TV series, starring Mary Louise Parker (WEEDS), based on the novel of the same name by Stephen King.

I was a sound recordist on this shoot, and operated the boom pole while Brittany managed the recording levels on Drez’s lavalier microphone. We also assisted with a blood splatter sequence per the video above, but allowed opportunity to adjust elements in post-production with green screen technology as a contingency plan.

A post shared by TrustFallProductions (@trustfallprod) on Jun 30, 2017 at 3:32pm PDT

SIDES is currently in post-production, and going through the initial round of edits with an expected total runtime of 4 minutes, allowing for plenty of programming possibility at festivals all around the country, especially with a subject matter so topical in contemporary conversation, despite its historical setting. All the best stories use allegory like that to relay messages pertaining to modern social issues.